Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Charge AirPods (or Even an iPhone) With Your iPhone

MacRumors

MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
68,990
40,003


If you own an iPhone or iPad with a USB-C port, the port can be used to charge AirPods, an Apple Watch, or even another iPhone, which is handy for times when you don't have a spare charger or power outlet available. Here's how it works.

iPhone-15-USB-C-Port-Event-Still.jpg

If your AirPods or Apple Watch run out of battery while you don't have access to a charger, you can use the battery in your iPhone or iPad for a little extra juice rather than carrying around an additional battery pack.

Additionally, if you plug an ‌iPhone 15‌ or newer into another ‌iPhone 15‌ or newer, the two devices will communicate with one another, determine which ‌iPhone‌ has the lower battery, and transfer power in the direction that needs it most. So if your iPhone has a very low battery and a friend's iPad/iPhone has a full battery, you can plug your ‌iPhone‌ into your friend's device and they can provide you with some juice to hold you over until a more practical charging solution arrives in your midst.

If your friend has a USB-C Android phone, if the device has USB Power Delivery support and you connect your ‌power-hungry iPhone‌ to it, the Android device will also be able to provide battery power. However, if the Android phone does not have USB PD, the results are likely to be inconsistent, and there's no way to predict which phone will be the charger and which will get the charge.

What You Need

iPhone-AirPods-USB-C.jpeg

You'll need an appropriate cable for the job, depending on what you want to charge. You'll need a Lightning to USB-C cable for older-generation AirPods with a Lightning port, or a USB-C to USB-C cable for AirPods with a USB-C Charging Case. For Apple Watch, you'll need a dedicated USB-C charging puck.

Unfortunately, when charging another device with an ‌iPhone 15‌ or newer, the charge is limited to 4.5W. That's appropriate for small devices like the Apple Watch, but not so much for another ‌iPhone‌. In other words, expect slow charging speeds when using ‌iPhone‌ to ‌iPhone‌ charging functionality.

One more thing – despite persistent rumors, you still can't charge your AirPods by placing them on the back of a MagSafe-enabled iPhone. Apple is said to have been developing this kind of reverse wireless charging for years, but the feature hasn't made it to market. For now, using a USB-C connection remains the most practical and reliable way to top up your AirPods or other accessories on the go.

Article Link: Charge AirPods (or Even an iPhone) With Your iPhone
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/how-to/charge-other-devices-with-iphone-ipad/
  • Like
Reactions: JapanApple, uacd and tranceking26
Oh, I remember I went on a trip to Japan and bought iPhone 15 Pro Max. Was excited to provide my friend during sightseeing with some juice.
Turned out, 15PM performed worse than 13PM and it has to be charged itself by 3PM.
 
  • Haha
Reactions: HazeAndHahmahneez
jennyp said:
ultratiem said:
You plug the cable in. That’s how it works. It’s the cable. You plug it in. That’s it. That’s how it works. It’s a cable guys.

Any questions?
Click to expand...
Perhaps you need a cable. But you have to remember to connect the two up, I think
Click to expand...
ah!! yeah, works way better than my putting my phone, AirPods and a cable in a bag and shaking well.
 
  • Love
  • Like
  • Haha
Reactions: blob.DK, jennyp and SidricTheViking
MacRumors said:
So if your iPhone has a very low battery and a friend's iPad/iPhone has a full battery, you can plug your ‌iPhone‌ into your friend's device and they can provide you with some juice to hold you over until a more practical charging solution arrives in your midst.
Click to expand...
I'm not that good of friends with anybody.
 
  • Wow
Reactions: SidricTheViking
FSMBP said:
I liked it to until I realized different cables have different specs and not everything works with the same cable :(
Click to expand...
I just make sure it's designed for both data and power delivery and for a reasonably high wattage. Then, at least so far, one cable works for all needs. When I travel I keep just a single charger and USB-C cable in my laptop bag and use it to charge everything. Yes, I have to charge each at different times given just one cable but that works fine for my normal routine. Not only can I charge everything but use that same cable to connect a USB SSD for backups while traveling
 
  • Like
Reactions: SidricTheViking
svish said:
It is useful indeed but waiting for Apple to implement reverse wireless charging. That will be convenient.
Click to expand...
reverse wireless charging is absolutely useless when compared to just using a wire.
there is a reason that, despite android phones implementing it, it hasn’t really caught on.
One of those things that when you hear about it or you read it in a specification sheet, it looks cool and useful.
in practice, though, real life factors make it practically terrible.
The phone being used as the wireless charger now has to be faced down, so you can’t really use it with something attached to its back.
wireless charging itself has about a 20-30% energy loss, so you are, no exaggeration, just burning through battery for a good portion of the time you are using it to wirelessly charge.
Plus, it’s just weird. different phones aredifferent sizes and we’ve got huge camera bumps so they will never fit together just right, it’s just a constant clashing of uneven phone backs.
Plus if you even dare to try to use this in hot weather, both phones immediately are going to get too overheated to properly charge.

it takes all of the negatives of regular wireless charging, the heat it generates, the lack of efficiency, the awkwardness with alignment at times, and amplify them. Plus, you don’t even get any of the convenience that regular wireless charging has.
you are much better off, just connecting the phones via a cable, or buying a battery bank.

PS: the hardware for reverse wireless charging has actually existed in the iPhones since the 12. Apple has just limited its usage to the MagSafe battery pack, and only when you are plugging the phone directly into a power source already.
and guess what? Whenever I’ve used my iPhone to wirelessly charge up the MagSafe battery pack, it’s slow, it gets hot, it likely eventually gives me the overheat warning or it just takes hours and hours. even if Apple enabled it to work between iPhones or to AirPods, which they probably could do with a software update, it would still be an awful experience and you would still be much better off just using a cable or a battery bank.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Baron Thompson
Finally I have a comeback to my smug android friends who have had reverse wireless charging for a decade.

Then again I can just hear the roar of laughter when they see the cable.

Some things are best kept little known.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back